Friday, November 5, 2010

I know, I know..

I've been horrible at blogging the past few months.  My mom likes to remind me that she checks the blog at least once a day and is disappointed every time.  I've been really bad at taking pictures lately, so I'll post some random ones that are the most recent.  

Halloween!  Rylan was a wolf and Mackenzie was a monkey.  The same monkey that Rylan was 2 years ago, she loved it!!!  They both had such a fun time.  We only trick-or-treated for about 2 blocks, and that was far enough, for 2 reasons.  1: We never buy candy, and I didn't care to have any in the house.  2: Those two blocks took long enough, what with Rylan chatting at every house for about 3-5 minutes.  The first thing he did was try to hand out his own candy.  He had brought some along because he wanted to give some out too, what a honey!  The second thing he did was tell the candy-giver all about his costume, and demonstrate the various noises wolves make.  Then he had to sort through his candy and have show-and-tell.  He saved the best for last though, showing off the dollar he got from Grandma Mac.  He's so social, it was cute to watch him interact with adults so well.  Kenzie just thought it was fun to wear a costume and put things in her little bucket.  She was just in heaven running after her big brother from house to house.  It was a wonderful fall evening to spend outside.


These next 2 are from a while ago.  Rylan spent a weekend morning with Nana, Papa, Katie and Brian.  They played pirates and made a costume for him with the newspaper.  He was Pirate Redbeard.


Rylan got to spend a week at the Ranch with Daddy doing some pheasant hunting.  He had so much fun!  Here he is trying on some camo.  (maybe a few more years buddy) :)



Such a honey, always full of smiles.

The guys did pretty well, even got one of the banded birds they raised.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

I *Think*...

... we are all healthy right now!  WooHoo!  You have no idea how good it feels to have everyone at daycare/school/work for 2 days in a row!  God is good!  He got me through a tough three weeks, now I could really use a break.

Oh wait, I DO get a break!  Tomorrow, I'm heading to visit my lovely sister for a long weekend of Christmas shopping and relaxation, I can't wait!  Did you catch that, just me, no one else, I get a weekend away!  Nick is taking the kids to the Ranch, they will have so much fun.  I will miss them and be glad to see them when I come back, but Mommas' do need time away every once in a while.  Happy Wednesday!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Never Mind

Now Nick is sick and Kenzie has been throwing up again tonight.

On The Sick Front...

And if you're wondering, we are all feeling better today.  I haven't had to take any drugs to manage my throat pain, so the antibiotics must be working!  Neither child has puked or had explosive poop in the last 24 hours!  They have been happily playing all morning and both have their appetite back.  I'm still nervous about returning to their normal diet, so another day of crackers, toast, chicken noodle soup, gatorade, and pedialyte popsicles.  WooHoo!

Baked Potato Soup

Here's one of my favorite soup recipes.  Easy, tasty, and leftovers freeze well!

Baked Potato Soup

6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 3 3/4 pounds)
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 (14 oz) cans chicken broth with roasted garlic
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 cup whipping cream or half-and-half
1 cup (4 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 (8-oz) container sour cream (optional)
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
shredded cheddar cheese

*Combine first 6 ingredients in a 5-qt slow cooker.
*Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.
*Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened; stir in cream, cheese, and chives.
*Top with sour cream, if desired, and sprinkle with bacon and cheddar cheese before serving.  Makes 12 cups.


Now, that is the recipe as I found it in my slow cooker cook book, but here is what I do.
-I skip the salt, just make sure you don't use low sodium broth, or you will need the salt.  I've tried the low sodium broth and it's nasty.
-I've never found chicken broth with roasted garlic, so I just use regular chicken broth.
-I use 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese in the soup(we love cheese!), but I don't garnish with extra cheese.
-I've never put chives in it, because I never have them, but I'm sure it would taste good.
-I'm not a huge sour cream fan, so I've never put that on top either.
-For me, the bacon is a must, it makes the whole soup, but I've also put cooked, cubed ham in it and that is good as well.

I almost feel this soup is better the next day, after it's really had time to thicken up and absorb all the flavors, so it's just as yummy as leftovers.  And like I said, it freezes and reheats great as well.
Happy cooking!

Friday, October 15, 2010

How Long Can We Be Sick?

So in the last 15 work days, I've been to work 7 of them.  Rylan, Mackenzie and I have been sick for the last 3 weeks.  Not all with the same thing, no, we've had everything.  We better be immune to it all when it's over, but I'm starting to wonder if it will ever be over.  Here's a breakdown of the past 3 weeks.

Week 1
Saturday - Mackenzie fever
Sunday - Mackenzie fever
Monday - Kenzie fever - Dr - double ear infection
Tuesday - Kenzie recovering, Rylan fever
Wednesday - Rylan fever
Thursday - Rylan fever
Friday - Rylan fever - Dr - ear infection

Week 2
Saturday - Rylan recovering
Sunday - healthy!
Monday - Me sore throat, hoarse voice
Tuesday - Me sore throat, more hoarse voice
Wednesday - Me sore throat, voice completely gone
Thursday - basically feeling like I'm going to die, call Dr, told to wait it out
Friday - yep, I'm dying

Week 3
Saturday - starting to feel better, but still like I'm swallowing knives
Sunday - sore throat, coughing, voice getting better
Monday - Kenzie throwing up, me sore throat, coughing
Tuesday - Kenzie doing better, me sore throat, coughing
Wednesday - Kenzie throwing up, me sore throat, voice getting worse
Thursday - Kenzie doing better, Rylan throwing up, finally got antibiotics for me
Friday - Rylan keeping liquids down, Kenzie throwing up & diarrhea, me still sore throat

I'm ready to give up.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Comments

I've been getting a few weird comments from anonymous people so I've changed my settings and you can still leave a comment, but I have to "approve" it before it's visible on the page.  So don't be confused if you left a comment and it hasn't shown up yet, I just haven't done it yet.  (By the way, I love comments!)